They're Gone
by gneebee
Summary: She was a beauty for sure. Even in bib overalls and a t-shirt she piqued his interest. He'd heard a million "farmer's daughter" jokes growing up and now he understood, if they all looked like her it was worth risking a butt full of buckshot to get up close and personal with one. Rick Grimes Beth Greene BRICK Romance AU no ZA
1. Chapter 1

**A/N Hey there thanks for stopping by. This story is going to be short, sweet and designed to, hopefully, put a smile on your face. I appreciate you taking the time to read it and I hope you enjoy :) I started with a song prompt from FF friend LivingDeadGirl87. I couldn't follow the prompt exactly, but I think I captured the feeling of it.**

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He had what they call an employment gap and that was something he couldn't afford. It wasn't like he was rolling in money. His reality was just the opposite of that. He'd barely been able to get by when he was at the academy.

Now he had a three month gap, three months between completing his training and starting his new job with the King County Sheriff's Department. A guy could starve in a lot less time than that.

He was feeling grateful to have been offered the deputy sheriff position in King County. Plenty of guys he'd been at the academy with were still hoping for work. The only problem he had was that three months, that wasn't going to work. He needed a job, just something temporary and he'd take about anything to get him by.

He'd done his training at the state facility in Forsyth near Warner-Robbins, just north of Macon. He decided he'd look for something close by. He'd work hard at saving every penny he could and hopefully have enough put back to rent a decent apartment when he moved up to King County, just north and west of Atlanta.

It was graduation day when his buddy told him about something that might work out. It was a temporary job on a farm just a few miles out of town. It paid wages and included room and board. He'd been summer help on farms ever since he was in middle school so he knew he could do the work. Just having a place to stay and food prepared for him were really all the incentive he needed to check it out.

He knew farmers started their day at the crack of dawn and so he arrived in the early morning. He pulled in the long drive and it was like a flashback to his grandpa's place. There was a big white house that could use a coat of paint, a big wide porch that looked inviting, and a huge barn. And there were those fairly standard farm features, a corral, a chicken coop, a well house, a couple of small storage sheds and what seemed like miles of fencing.

He'd no sooner pulled his old pickup in the drive than a white-haired gentleman with a prominent limp came out of the barn. He smiled to himself knowing you can hear a vehicle coming for miles out in the country.

He shut it down and hopped out of the rig, greeting the older fellow, "Hello sir my name's Rick Grimes. I heard you might have some work available for a reliable hand."

He could see the man was sizing him up as he answered, "I'm Hershel Greene, and yes I do. Do you know anything about farm work?"

"I've done quite a bit of it what with summer jobs and working harvests, that kind of thing."

"Well you should understand this is only a temporary job. My regular hand and his wife had to go over to Columbus and help care for her Mother. They'll be returning in two and a half months, I'll just need someone until then."

"That's perfect. I just graduated from the law enforcement academy and my new job doesn't start for three months. I need work until then."

"Alright, let me show you around the place." The older man might walk with a limp but it didn't seem to slow him down much. He showed Rick the barn first, it housed a couple of horses a milk cow and had a big hayloft and an impressive tack room.

Next to it was a small bunkhouse, that's where he'd be living. He could see it was set up for two men. It consisted of one room with two twin size beds with a night table between them, two small chests of drawers and a small kitchen table with two chairs. The bathroom was compact and basic, toilet, sink, shower. He really hoped he wouldn't be sharing, and he asked, "Will you be hiring another man?"

"No I can't afford to do that. My daughter graduates high school this Friday then she'll be working full time for me too. With you, and her and me all working that should get us through until my hired man Otis, and his wife are back."

"My wife will prepare your meals but mealtime is family time for us. Someone, either my wife, myself or my daughter will bring your plate to you for breakfast and supper, for dinner it's wherever you're working. You can eat here or outside, whatever suits you. Breakfast is at six a.m., dinner at noon, supper at six p.m. There's no drinking and no smoking allowed on the property, and don't bring any women around either. What you do on your own time and away from here is your business, but I won't have it here on my property."

He had a strong urge to laugh at the older man's gruff attitude, but he was good at checking himself and he kept a serious expression on his face. That didn't mean he wasn't thinking a woman and a bottle of booze was just what was needed to bring some life to the stark room.

Truth was he was relieved to hear he wouldn't have to eat with the family. He was sure they were nice enough folks, but he preferred not to eat three meals a day with the people he was going to be working with all day. Especially with as stringent as Hershel Greene seemed to be.

At least that was how he felt until he caught sight of the daughter. She was a beauty for sure. Even in bib overalls and a t-shirt she piqued his interest. He'd heard a million "farmer's daughter" jokes growing up and now he understood, if they all looked like her it was worth risking a butt full of buckshot to get up close and personal with one.

She came running toward them with a big friendly smile on her face, "Hi Daddy," then she looked at him and said, "Hi I'm Beth." And he couldn't help it, it was like her smile was contagious and he felt his face break into its own big grin.

Her father interrupted, and a little abruptly Rick felt, "Beth this is Rick Grimes, he's the temporary hired man. Not company." Uh oh he could see Daddy was keeping a close eye on this girl. Not that he blamed the man, if she was his daughter he'd be keeping an eye on her too. But she wasn't his daughter, thank God because he found her very appealing.

She somehow managed to be sweetly adorable while at the same time pretty darn hot and sexy. She had blond hair that she'd pulled back in a ponytail, but some of those curls apparently had a mind of their own. They were hanging loose and he was fighting an urge to help her out with that, maybe try his hand at taming them for her. She had that million dollar smile and great big bright blue eyes. Those eyes looked so innocent he wondered if this pretty girl knew just how tempting she was. He was hoping it would be her who brought his meals.

Otis was the only farmhand they'd ever had and he was like a member of the family. She thought of him as more of an Uncle than a hand. But the new hired man sure didn't look like Otis. He was handsome with his dark curls and those brilliant blue eyes but when he smiled that smile oh my, he made those butterflies in her tummy take flight. He was just about everything a girl could want all rolled up in a real nice lean and muscular package.

He filled out the paper his new boss wanted filled out, just a formality for the tax man or whatever, and quickly got the few things he owned moved into the small bunkhouse. Then it was right to work. The kind of work no one wants to do, mending fence. He loaded up what he needed in the small cargo trailer of the ancient four-wheeler, and just kept reminding himself this was all only temporary. Even in early summer the Georgia sun was hot, but at least he had some good tunes on his iPod.

He'd been working away for some time when all of the sudden he could swear he felt the ground vibrate just a bit. Sure enough when he looked up there was the pretty little farmer's daughter. She was riding toward him on a big chestnut bay with a smile on her lips, holding the reins in one hand and a picnic basket in the other. He pulled the ear buds out and set his tools down, resting his hands on his hips and smiling at the beautiful girl.

When she pulled back on the reins and the big horse stopped he reached up a hand and took the basket from her. He planned to set it down and then give her a hand down but she didn't need it, she slid down off the mare and she just kept smiling, "Hey Rick Grimes."

"Hey there Beth. Whatcha got here?"

"That's your noon meal and it's a pretty good one too. I know that because I packed it myself especially for you."

He didn't think he could smile any bigger but her words got to him. She'd just let him know in a pretty clear way that she was interested. Yeah well so was he, but he was also thinking about her stern old Daddy.

"Is that so, well then I'm sure it's delicious. I guess I didn't realize how late it was." He glanced at his watch, just 11:45.

"I had to come a little early, Daddy will expect me at the dinner table for our prayer. Of course we had to make sure you got properly cared for Deputy."

On that he looked down head nodding and laughed along with that smile, "News travels fast out on the rural route."

She laughed a little herself, "Maybe I'm curious about you so maybe I eavesdropped when Daddy was talking to Mama. You look young to be a sheriff's deputy, how old are ya?"

"22, I'll be 23 when I officially take my oath. And just how old are you Miss Beth?"

"I'm 18." He secretly breathed a big sigh of relief. He could feel it, he and the farmer's daughter had that special kind of tension between them. He wasn't complaining about it but he had to be careful, not just about this job but about the one he'd soon be starting. He sure couldn't be breaking the law.

What he was clearly seeing was this had the potential to be a far better summer than he'd ever thought it was going to be. He'd just have to be real, real careful is all. He still needed the job.

"I guess I'd better get back before Daddy comes looking. Just bring the basket to the kitchen door when you come in for the day. I'm going to try real hard to see to it that I'm the one bringing you your supper later."

It was then she caught him completely flatfooted. She put her hands on his shoulders, stood up on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. She turned right back around and quick as a minute she was up on that horse smiling, waving and saying, "See you real soon Rick Grimes."

He stood there feeling like a dazed idiot for a couple of minutes, just watching that horse as it took her away at a fast trot.

When he finally came back to earth he decided rather than eat on the ground, he'd sit on the 4-wheelers' cargo trailer. He opened the basket to see she'd surprised him again. Oh sure there was the delicious looking and delicious smelling food, fried chicken, potato salad, fresh watermelon, pickles and a slice of peach pie, right along with a big jar of sweet tea. But it was the little note on pink paper that got his smile going again, she'd simply written the word "Enjoy," and drawn a little flower next to it. He folded it up and put it in his wallet for safekeeping. It wasn't every day a pretty girl gave him a note. In fact no girl ever had given him a note of any kind.

It was plain to see, and he was more than happy to be the guy seeing it, this girl wasn't holding back. She was sending him all the signals and he was reading her loud and clear. He was just a little concerned because there was that fly in the ointment. It wasn't just the job he had to worry about, it was her. He could feel it happening. He was moving away from the place of thinking she'd be fun to play around with, to the place where he was starting to feel like she was pretty damn special, and he was pretty damn lucky she was wanting to give him her attention.

He came in from the fence line just before 5:30 and went straight to the farmhouse, knocking on the kitchen door. The pleasant looking woman who answered was somewhere on the north end of her forties, "Hello, you must be Rick Grimes, I'm Annette Greene."

"Very nice to meet you Ma'am and thank you for lunch, it was delicious and really hit the spot."

"You're welcome young man. My daughter and I are just getting supper put together now and she'll be bringing it out to you soon."

"Thanks again Ma'am." She didn't need to tell him her daughter was helping, because while her Mama had been talking he'd been looking at that daughter, standing at the counter slicing tomatoes and smiling at him.

He was hot, sweaty and felt grubbier than he could remember feeling since his high school football days. He decided to take a quick shower before his supper.

The shower did the trick, he was feeling so much better and reenergized. He wrapped the towel around his waist and stepped back in his room; and there stood the pretty farmer's daughter setting a tray down on the kitchen table. She looked at him wide-eyed and if it wasn't so damn hot he'd swear she was frozen, "Oh shit, I mean shoot. I'm sorry I didn't know you were here. I thought I locked the door. Shit, I mean shoot. I'm sorry Beth."

She was embarrassed all right, but then there was the way he was moving his hands around like he didn't know where he should put them, he had those curls hanging loose from the wetness of his hair, and then there was his tightly muscled chest and those sexy bowed legs. All of those things were making her forget how embarrassed she was and all of it was making her smile grow.

She was also feeling just a little breathless. She laughed as she told him, "Please don't apologize. I'm enjoying the scenery; you're kind of cute when you're embarrassed." She thought she was pretty darn grownup and clever, until she felt the blush come to her cheeks.

"You think it's funny? You think I'm embarrassed?" He asked it in a threatening tone, but then he started laughing and said, "Well you're right it is pretty damn funny and I can't remember ever being more embarrassed. You'd better go now, if your Daddy walked in he'd kill me for sure." And then he thought he was being pretty clever himself, "Unless you'd want to give me a real kiss first."

He was only teasing her, and he winked when he said it. She'd been so flirtatious with him he thought he was just doing his part, but he could swear he saw her blush again. Had he called her bluff? Was the Farmer's Daughter not quite the adventurous young woman she'd been leading him to believe? He was more intrigued than ever.

She quickly recovered and got her sassy back, "I'd better get back for supper. You bring the tray to the kitchen when you're done. I hope I'll be bringing your breakfast so I can see you bright and early tomorrow. You might want to put some pants on before I get here, or maybe not."

He didn't know how it was that her smile managed to look a little nervous, a little innocent and very sexy all at once. She looked so tempting and he just couldn't help himself. It was his turn. He hurried over to her, lightly grasping the tops of her arms as he bent down and softly kissed her lips. "Thanks for supper Beth."

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 **A/N Well now, we seem to have some pretty serious flirtation between the hired hand and the farmer's daughter. I hope you enjoyed chapter one and that you'll be kind enough to leave a review / comment. Thank you to LivingDeadGirl87 for the prompt which will be revealed when the story completes. You can find the chapter photo on my tumblr blogs, gneebee or bethylmethbrick. Chapter two will post next Friday, until then remember, I love ya large! xo gneebee**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N Thank you all so much. I love that you love Rick as a farmhand. I promise to do a much longer story with him on the farm, just as soon as I can conjure it up and get it on paper. I want you all to know how much I appreciate the Brick Fandom, you guys are so good to me. Enjoy! xo**

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The following morning he was up fully clothed, and anxiously waiting for the pretty farmer's daughter to bring his breakfast. But damn if it wasn't Daddy that brought it instead. The old farmer was much less attractive and far less friendly than Beth. Rick wondered why she didn't bring his meal but he sure as hell wasn't going to ask any questions.

The older man simply handed the tray to him and half-snarling said, "When you're done take the tray back to my wife. Don't dilly dally over the food either, eat and get back on that fence line." He was feeling real glad and real grateful he wasn't the one who had to wake up to Hershel Greene every morning.

He was also feeling pretty pissed off, he didn't care for the inference he may be a man who'd shirk his responsibilities. He felt the need to speak up about that, "Yeah sure, I'll be out there working in no time. If I was afraid of an honest day's work I wouldn't be mending your fences."

The older man gave him the hard and serious eye then. Rick kind of wanted to ask the old boy if he was gauging his worthiness to bust ass all day in the hot sun for low wages. But he didn't, he needed the job.

Hershel Greene just grumpily stated, "Fair enough."

One thing he did appreciate was Mrs. Greene's fine cooking. There were biscuits with sausage gravy, eggs over easy, fruit and a big mug of fresh brewed coffee. He would have worried that eating so much would pack on the pounds, if he wasn't working so hard and sweating so much.

While he ate his mind was on Beth and why it was she hadn't come to see him. It turned out he got his answer soon enough. Just as he left the small bunkhouse to return the tray she was walking from the coop carrying a basket of eggs. The perfect picture of a farmer's daughter.

They both peeked around for suspicious onlookers and seeing none gave each other just a hint of a smile. Their steps got in unison but they tried not to walk too close to one another, there was no need to make it obvious.

She spoke quietly, "I'm sorry I didn't bring your meal this morning and I won't get to see you during the day. I have to go to school and pick up my cap and gown and class ring. After that a bunch of us girls are going out to lunch and shopping. Starting next week though, you and me will be working together a lot. That will make the work so much less tedious, why it might even be enjoyable."

He looked around again making sure they were still in the clear, and then told her in a low voice, "I'll just hold onto the idea that soon I'll be seeing a lot more of you. Have fun today, but not too much fun without me."

And there it was again, the color coming up in those pretty cheeks, "I'll try not to Rick Grimes."

He let her walk ahead of him and watched as she opened the kitchen door, handing the basket of eggs to her Mama who handed her a backpack, then he gave the woman his tray. He turned back around while working hard at pretending not to watch her as she ran down the driveway and hopped on that big yellow school bus.

The job definitely seemed a lot crappier as over the next few days he hardly got to see her. She always seemed to be so busy with the end of school and her graduation activities. When the day finally came her family threw a big graduation party in celebration. Well it was their idea of a big party, it seemed like mostly just a lot of eating and visiting to him. His idea of a good party would have included at least one keg of beer and plenty of good music. He kept himself just as scarce as he could, staying out in the field until it was time to come in for supper. Even then he tried hard to slip in the bunkhouse unnoticed.

He'd just showered up and was wearing only jeans when the light tapping came to the door. He hurriedly put on his t-shirt thinking it might be Hershel, he was more than delighted to discover her standing there instead. He took the tray from her hands and quickly set it down on the table. They stood there looking at each other and smiling, both of them wondering what to do next.

It seemed to come out of the blue. Her words stunned and thrilled him right to the core when she said, "I can't stay we still have company. I'm sorry I haven't been around because I've really missed seeing you Rick. Will you meet me later tonight over behind the barn? Maybe we could take a walk down by the water."

He shouldn't, oh he definitely shouldn't. Yep, he should say "no it's a bad idea." This had trouble written all over it. Who wouldn't realize that? If he lost this job he was screwed. But those hard and true facts didn't alter the other more dominant facts. He was a healthy young man and she a healthy young woman, and between them there was some kind of undeniably delicious tension.

He suddenly decided he was okay with losing his job, starving to death or even getting shot. What the hell. "I will Beth, you just tell me when."

"They go to bed by nine, so say nine thirty?"

He looked around as if someone else might be in the room, then leaned down and kissed her lips, "I'll be there Beth Greene."

"I can't wait Rick Grimes."

He ate quickly, returned the tray and then laid down for a nap, setting his alarm for nine. That would give him more than enough time to comb his hair and brush his teeth before their meet up. He wasn't sure what exactly she had in mind, but he was up for damn near anything as long as she was involved.

He was ten minutes early and she was there five minutes after him. He could see her clearly in the light of the moon and she was a beauty indeed, but there was something else. He knew for certain then this was the true Beth Greene. Her smile was shy and she looked nervous and almost shaky. This young woman who was so hot and talked so sassy, was really just an innocent. "Hey pretty girl, I wondered if you'd really sneak out."

"Of course I did I told you'd I'd be here. I've wanted to spend time alone with you since my Daddy hired you." He could hear her nerves kicking in as she continued, "I did start to get a little worried about what you might think my invitation meant. Exactly."

He was sure he knew what that worry was all about. He lay an open palm softly on her cheek, his fingers lightly playing in her hair, "Hey no, don't worry about stuff like that. I'm not expecting anything. It's always your call. How about for now we just take a walk? Maybe get ourselves a little further from the house?"

He could almost feel the relief washing over her, "Yes let's." Never had he been more grateful for a full moon. Not only could he see where she was leading him, but she was even more beautiful in that soft light that made her pale skin so luminous. He didn't think about it, it just seemed like the natural thing to do when he took her hand in his.

He was surprised to see a little bench there by the water. She explained she and her sister had moved it there long ago, it was a favorite place for them to come and read and often share their secrets. "Today I sat there with her and I told her I had a crush on the hired hand."

"A crush huh? And what did your sister have to say about that?" He was smiling so hard it damn near hurt.

"Well at first she was telling me how crazy I am and how I'd better get that out of my mind. Then she saw you when you pulled up next to the barn on the 4-wheeler. That's when she said she understood completely."

He laughed, squeezing her hand and shaking his head, "You Greene girls are something else for sure. So what's you're big plan now that you're out of high school?"

"For now I'm just taking the summer to help out Daddy until Otis gets back, then I was thinking about going to community college. I thought I'd take some core English and math and some business courses. I'd like to learn as many office skills as I can, just to have the background. Once I complete that I can see where I want to go from there. I'm not in a big rush to choose a career. I want to make sure whatever I decide is right for me."

He was impressed that she'd given it so much thought. He admired her for that. He'd had no idea what to do with himself back when he graduated. He ended up bouncing from job to job, mostly construction labor, until he decided what he really wanted and enrolled in the academy.

"What about you Rick, what made you decide to be a sheriff's deputy? I'd like to hear about that and your new job?"

They ended up talking for a long time about plans and dreams and life and happiness. It seemed the more they talked the closer they sat on the bench. Then it started with him slipping his arm around her shoulder and drawing her in close. She didn't resist at all, in fact she laid her head on his shoulder as they continued talking.

Everything felt so perfect as they gazed out at the water and watched shimmers of moonlight dancing off the ripples the current made. Neither was speaking, they were simply taking in the beauty of their surroundings and the feeling of closeness with each other. He knew the moment was right so he moved his index finger under her chin, gently guiding her face toward his and kissed her tenderly.

Her response to his attention encouraged him as she kissed him back with equal tenderness and passion. This was no longer just a game they were playing of flirtatious little kisses and innuendo, this was the real connection.

The pretty farmer's daughter and the future sheriff's deputy started meeting that way nearly every night. He was grateful for his nightly naps after dinner, but he was by no means getting the rest he needed. He didn't mind at all. He'd fallen fast and hard for Beth Greene and he was thrilled that she felt the same about him.

Just four weeks into the new romance they were down near the river's edge lying on the blanket from his bed. The moonlight was dancing off the water and the way her pale skin reflected the light it was almost as if she was glowing. He lay above her, resting on one elbow and running his forefinger lightly along her cheek and her chin. He leaned in for a tender kiss, then smiled and for the first time told her, "I love you Beth."

She reached her hand up to his face, her fingers playing in those soft brown curls of hair, "I love you too Rick, I think I have since the first time I saw you."

He'd already been feeling the fire but her words turned that fire white hot. Still he knew her and he knew except for the little experimenting they did, she was innocent. The truth was he hadn't been around much himself. Just a few awkward encounters. But he definitely knew he didn't want their first time together to be on the rough and rocky bank of that river.

They were open with each other, they both knew what they wanted. They made a plan for her to come to the bunkhouse the following night. They'd avoided meeting in the small room, with his bed right there it was just too much temptation. But now that things had changed and they'd decided to give in to temptation it would be just right.

Early the next morning he gave her Daddy an excuse about some kind of medication he just had to run into town and pick up. "I won't be gone more than 45 minutes then I'll be right back in that field and working hard."

Daddy wasn't real pleased but he couldn't very well deny a man medicine. Had he known the farmhand was heading into town to buy condoms at the drugstore, he would have undoubtedly been far more unhappy.

She came to his room that night and at first they were both shy, tentative, but their desire soon overtook their shyness and the scene got hot and passionate. He may not have known much about sex, but he knew enough to take it slow with her, and enough to know that as her lover he had to make sure she enjoyed this as much as he did. When she reached that place where her body shook, her breathing was fast and labored and she called out his name as her hips rose, that's when he knew. There would never be anything he did again that would feel as good as bringing her pleasure.

The young couple quickly embraced their new routine of working hard all day, then having a shower and a short nap, all followed by nights of both emotional and physical pleasure and fulfillment. They were falling deeper and deeper into love and they'd begun to talk about what would happen when he left. How could they possibly make this work? He'd be hours away and she couldn't afford to move to King County to attend school.

There was an added problem as well. Her Daddy didn't seem to care for Rick and neither Rick nor Beth could understand why. Rick had been polite and respectful, he did everything that was asked of him without complaint and he worked hard. For some reason the old man just had a dislike for him and there didn't seem to be anything to be done about that.

* * *

It was just two weeks before he was to leave. They were starting to feel the weight of their impending separation, and they still didn't know how in the world they'd survive being apart. They couldn't figure out how and when they'd be able to get together, and they knew they wanted that togetherness.

As she did most nights she'd slipped out of the farmhouse and into the bunkhouse as soon as her parents fell asleep. They made love and then they softly cried as they talked about his upcoming departure. They held one another close, trying to comfort each other. They were so tired and they were so emotional they ended up falling asleep wrapped in one anothers' arms.

As usual Mama and Daddy were up at five the next morning, and they were shocked when they discovered their baby girl was nowhere to be found. Mama was crying but not Daddy. Daddy was seething. He never had trusted that farmhand, he didn't care if he was a deputy sheriff or not. He'd seen the way that young man looked at his little girl.

He grabbed the big ring of keys and he headed right for the bunkhouse. He was quiet as a mouse, ever so slowly turning that key in the lock. When the tumbler turned he threw the door wide open and sure enough, there was that son-of-a-bitch of a farmhand laying in the bed with his precious baby girl. The both of them just as naked as the day they were born.

The yelling and the crying, the fruitless attempts at explanation could be heard as far as the highway. Needless to say, the farmhand was fired and told he had one hour to get his things gathered and get off the property.

Now the young farmhand was determined to figure something out and he tried to convey that to her in a look, but with emotions running so high, well nothing was going easy. He did have the presence of mind and just enough youthful audacity to say, "I'm not leaving without my wages."

He actually felt sorry for her Daddy but he also knew his rights. The truth of the matter was that nothing illegal had happened, and he'd worked hard for that damn money. Plus he had to find a place to live over in King County.

Hershel barked at his daughter, "Get your clothes on and come with me, NOW!" The deputy saw the tears running from her eyes and it tore him right up.

It wasn't ten minutes later the old man was back at the bunkhouse. He threw the envelope at Rick yelling, "Take your money and get your worthless ass out."

He had no problem complying with the old man's wishes, except for leaving her. The thought of that was breaking his heart. Rick watched out the small window as she walked toward the orchard with her folks. It was obvious they weren't letting her out of their sight until he was long gone. He was going to have to figure out some way he could be with her.

He threw his few belongings in the back of his pickup, and he was pulling it around to head out the driveway and out of there. That's when he saw her running toward him. He quickly jumped from the vehicle taking her in his arms, "Come with me Beth, please? We can get married and you can go to school or whatever the hell else you want to do. I love you and I want you with me now and always."

She squealed out, "Yes!"

She knew her parents were behind her but she also knew they were a lot older and a lot slower. She had just a little bit of time. She broke free, ran in the house and quickly stuffed a trash bag with as many of her things as she could grab in two minutes. She left a little note pinned to the screen door that just said, "sorry but I got to go," and she ran to her prince waiting next to his old white pickup truck.

Dirt flew as they sped out of the driveway and that's when he caught sight of her folks in the rear view, running after them. He had a moment of guilt and told her what he'd seen, "Do you want to stay?"

"No, I want to go with you. I want to be your wife."

He smiled that great big smile at her and she smiled that great big smile at him. Their eyes were sparkling, their bodies were tingling and their hearts were happy.

They didn't waste time, they made it legal in the next town over. Then they were off to King County to find a place to set up housekeeping.

In the meantime poor Mama kept reading that note over and over, and her heart broke every time. Daddy just couldn't believe it, he thought he had control over the situation. How could his sweet little ponytailed girl run off with that man? How could 18 years just up and walk away?

What they'd done, the way they'd left and all, well it was the talk of the town. In fact it was the talk of the county. Hershel and Annette Greene's baby girl had run off with the farmhand.

The gossip at the beauty shop just didn't let up for a minute. There were a couple of the ladies who had seen that fella at the drugstore and they understood exactly what had happened; that boy was a good looking son of a gun and he was probably a real smooth talker too. Hershel and Annette should have known better than to hire temptation. Even a grounded girl like Beth can be swayed by good looks and sweet talk. And the truth of the matter was, when all was said and done she was plenty old enough and you can't stop love.

 **Five Years Later**

He pulled the squad in the driveway and stepped out with a smile on his lips and a gun on his hip. She stood on the porch of their little white house smiling and just waiting for that hello kiss. Still so in love with and so proud of her husband.

Only five years on the job and he'd been elected county sheriff. The Lion's Club, the VFW and the Ladies Quilting Society of King County had all joined forces to put on a big county-wide party in the park the next day. They'd be celebrating the election of their new young sheriff.

The little curly-haired boy let loose of his Mama's hand and started running toward his Daddy, who laughed as he picked the child up and held him tight. He carried the boy over to where she stood and kissed her lips, while his hand gently rubbed her growing belly, "How are my girls today?"

"We're doing great Sheriff, and we're real happy to have you home."

They sat on the porch together and he held her hand, lightly rubbing his thumb along the back of it. They smiled as they watched their little boy happily playing with his toys on the lawn, and her husband asked her, "Did you talk to your folks today?"

"Yes and they'll be here bright and early to go to the party tomorrow. Mama said she's been frying chicken all day and Daddy is bringing four of his biggest watermelons."

"They're not supposed to have to bring anything."

"Oh Rick you knew they would, they love you and they're so proud of you and all your accomplishments."

ooo00ooo

 **A/N Thanks so much for having some fun with me, the deputy and the farmer's daughter. Thank you to LivingDeadGirl87 for the song prompt, Sara Evans' Suds in the Bucket. I couldn't make it quite as true to the lyrics as I was able to with the Merle version, but the general idea is there, you can't stop love. If you don't know the song there's a Vevo video on You Tube. I hope you enjoyed the story and I'd appreciate it if you would leave a comment / review. The chapter photo is posted to my tumblr blogs gneebee and bethylmethbrick. I'll see you all very soon with some more Rick and Beth love. Thank you again and remember, I love ya large! xo gneebee**


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